1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stab resistant knit fabric made with a layered modified knit structure which also has ballistic resistance properties, and a soft body armor construction containing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many industries and professions there is a need for protective wear that is cut and/or abrasion resistant, yet lightweight and comfortable for the wearer. From maintenance workers crawling through HVAC ventilation shafts to weekend warriors participating in various sporting events to police officers having to confront knife wielding assailants, many individuals need protection from cuts and scrapes as they go about their daily activities.
Typical examples of previous garments and modular systems are disclosed in U.S. Publication No. 2004/0199983 to Gillen; U.S. Pat. No. 6,892,392 to Crye; U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,024 to Graves; U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,509 to Bowen; U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,745 to Alger; U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,288 to Kibbee; U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,056 to Riley; U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,270 to Ost; U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,600 to Chenefront; U.S. Pat. No. 5,754,982 to Gainer; U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,000 to Ost; U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,999 to Luny; U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,836 to Bush; U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,737 to Luhtala; U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,621 to Kibbee; U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,453 to Widder; U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,314 to Lewis; U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,069 to Braunhut; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,476 to Herbert, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
However, these and other known such garments suffer from numerous disadvantages. The garments are often unable to provide a satisfactory level of protection to a wearer of the garment, are easily damaged, are unwieldy and uncomfortable to the wearer, do not permit airflow therethrough, do not permit the escape of excess water vapor from the skin of the wearer, and often require the use of specialized over- or undergarments. Most of the modular systems in these patents require a central vest portion to be present in order to attach the other parts of the system.
In many activities, it is desirable to provide protective garments, including undergarments, to protect participants from being cut. In the law enforcement and security arenas, it is also desirable for protective garments to provide protection against stabbings. Stab resistance is not the same as puncture resistance. In particular, puncture resistance requires the garment to resist the insertion of a blunt or pointed object between the threads, but does not require cut resistance in addition. Stab resistance, on the other hand, requires an initial puncture resistance (for the tip of the knife or other sharp instrument) combined with the ability to resist the edge of the knife cutting its way through the fabric as force is applied.
Ideally, such garments should be flexible, pliable, soft and cut/abrasion resistant. Unfortunately, any improvement in the cut and/or abrasion resistance has usually been at the sacrifice of the other properties, usually resulting in bulky, uncomfortable garments.
Another desired property is ballistic properties, namely the ability to resist penetration by a bullet, particularly those fired from handguns at close range. Most ballistic wear is also overly bulky for the wearer.
In response to these problems, non-metallic cut-resistant yarns have been developed. These yarns have been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,177,948 and 5,845,476 to Kolmes et al., the contents of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. Kolmes '948 describes a yarn having substantially parallel core strands which may include fiberglass. Kolmes '476 describes other non-metal containing yarn constructions which contain fiberglass as a core yarn.
Common metal mesh products are marketed to provide cut, slash and laceration protection, but often are insufficient in puncture resistance, due to the holes in the mesh.
Accordingly, a modified knit structure fabric is needed that can provide stab resistance. Additionally, a less bulky fabric that can provide ballistic resistance in addition to the stab resistance is also needed.